I just found out not to long ago that a long lost cousin is now living in the back woods of West Virginia in a gross old trailer with rotting floors and no steps into or out of it. They have no running water and not *lectricity*. He He

My best friends are all rednecks, they make shit for wages, and they'd do anything to help someone in need. Money don't matter, people do.

I have acquaintences who are more well-off, they just as soon put a turd in your shoe as help ya out if it means they actually have to give you something of theirs. The proportion of that is directly inverse to earnings, with some stallar exceptions. But they are few.

12. If someone uses a term like "white trash" they will get called on it...

I don't know what DU was like years ago, but I appreciate people not letting things like that slide by. I don't think anyone is treating your wife badly at all, just expressing their feelings with regard to the term.

that maybe they have offended someone... Feel free to not think twice before hitting the button, but don't go crying about being attacked when someone tells you that they are offended by what you wrote. Or do... either accept the consequences of your words or ignore them.

But I do understand how the term is offensive, and I wouldn't use it. No one was attacking your wife, they were just expressing their feelings about the term... I don't understand why you are reacting so vehemently to this. Some people are offended, period. Do they not have the right to express that?

And not once did I ask you to apologize, in fact, I was simply pointing out that no one was attacking your wife, and that if you don't like people reacting that they are offended by a term she used, then ignore their posts, or learn something from it, or continue your pc battle... doesn't really matter to me.

although I agree that there are times when it seems that one has to choose one's words very carefully. Some topics or jokes just don't seem worth the aggravation or hurt that they might cause, so better to avoid them.

I think that, if previous experience has been that some people are unappreciative of a certain type of humor, no matter how hilarious, then it might be best to move on to another audience for that particular type of humor. Or, reevaluate the material. Or both.

I was so bloody ignorant before I met Mrs. V. I believed that all the down-south redneck stereotypes were true.

I fell in love with her long before I ever heard her voice, with that strong eastern Appalachian hillbilly accent.

The first time I heard Mrs. V. speak, I thought, "what have I done? She must be an idiot" -- and that lasted for about three seconds, and I was ashamed of myself. I would never have accepted that I was so ignorant before that moment.

but I've had some excellent experiences with so-called "white trash." When I didn't have a dime and no one would give me the time of day, people from that background (and working-class blacks) treated me like a human being.

however my mom pulled herself up and worked like hell to raise us kids in a a nice neighborhood so that we could have what she never did. I still see my extended family at the big reunion every Easter though god love 'em. The ones that aren't screwing the system are fabulously great people.

If people are so extreme that we cannot poke fun at part of our own society, of which you may or may not be a member, then we are not going to have very many laughs. Nobody was hurt in the post. Laughing at ourselves is what it is all about. Why do you think rednecks love redneck humor so much? If this had been a degrading white trash bash then the whole tone would have been different and not accepted. However, sometimes we just need to laugh.

Take for example this letter that was written by a old farm cousin of mine many years ago...

LETTER FROM A FARM KID NOW AT THE MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT IN SANDIEGO.

Dear Ma and Pa:

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before maybe all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m., but am getting so I like to sleep late.

Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing. Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water.

Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food. But tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you till noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.

We go on "route" marches, which the Platoon Sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it is not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks. The country is nice, but awful flat.

The Sergeant is like a schoolteacher. He nags some. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and Colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none. This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing.

I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move. And it ain't shooting at you, like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. He joined up the same time as me. But I'm only 5' 6" and 130 pounds and he's 6' 8" and weighs near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in...........

Your loving daughter,

Patty Sue (old cousin Patty Sue to you Maestro. When ya signin' up city boy?)

This is what West Virginia is known for - trailers, hicks with no teeth and complete and utter poverty. I know you weren't making fun of the state, but just wanted to point out that it is quite beautiful here as well! It's not all Jesco Whites (who I love, by the way) - we also produce the Don Knotts and Jennifer Garner-types of this world!

Hope you know I didn't take offense - just wanted to show the other side. If you haven't already, you should visit sometime ...

It's not so hard to understand why someone wouldn't find the subject funny. Believe me, I'm not offended easily, but I also don't think that just because something is a joke makes it automatically unoffensive to everyone. Plenty of jokes about sensitive material can be hilarious. But, it shouldn't be a surprise when someone is offended. I think the appropriate response when someone is offended at your(collective, not you personally) jokes is not to be offended at their offense. Apologize if you feel it is necessary, or just move on. I think this outrage over people who are offended is eve more outrageous than anyone with a "thin skin".

It's just a pet peeve of mine. I hate the "Gee, why can't anyone take a joke, what's the matter with you, why is everyone so thin skinned, it was just a joke!!!!!???" I don't know why, but that annoys the hell out of me.

It makes no sense to me that people can't understand that joke does not always equal unoffensive. And, it makes no sense to me that people act like it is the end of the world because a thread got locked or deleted, or someone's feelings were hurt.

It's used to defend indefensible stuff, like that Tsunami song, for instance.

I hope you don't get the impression that I think that just because something is said in jest that it is automatically given a free pass for being offensive. That song is one example of where I draw the line.

Tongue in cheek stuff about one's own family, though... I just don't get where the outrage is coming from.

And there is an awful lot of "My post was deleted!" *wailing and gnashing of teeth* at DU sometimes. My end of the world comments were about DU in general.

I also think it might have been the picture. I, myself, thought that was a bit much. That is the aftermath of someone's life floating in the water. I can't imagine a picture of my destroyed home being the target of laughter. I didn't so much think the text was that bad, though.

I know exactly what you mean about the crying over deleted posts/threads issue. Talk about worrying over meaningless crap...

And I completely agree that the picture is completely tasteless and disgusting, for just the reason you mentioned. It's one thing to include a photoshopped pic of people with bad teeth, hair, jacked up trucks, etc. That's what I usually expect in redneck-mocking... pics of people's meager belongings ruined in a natural disaster... that's just wrong.

or is this poltitical correctness at an extreme? And I am not looking for a flame fight, but really then what can we laugh at? No more Aggie jokes or for that matter freeper jokes? No more Cheney jokes or does he deserve it because he is rich and neo-con? I tell you what, the rich are fair game, but wait, there's George Soros. He's rich. So I guess the rich have to be excluded. So let's go back to the poor, but wait, Democrats traditionally help the down and out. Whoa, hold on, but some of the worst freepers are low income rednecks. So what to do? Take humor out of our lives? We can not be so extreme in our political correctness that we deny ourselves humor.

We are not about to make fun of people who are going through rough times and the original certainly did not mean that and if you have been around DU long enough, you know that. Please, people, take some time to laugh a bit.

Oh and here is a picture of my cousin's, Patty Sue, family. Cousin Patty Sue was teachin' 'em how to combat terrorism.

This thread was about a small band of bullies who don't like my wife, and who want to drive her off DU.

The original joke in this thread was about The Princess's family. And she says that if anyone KNEW her family, they'd get the joke.

There's her cousin who believes he's the second coming of Christ and worships Padre Pio and prays that he will get the stigmata.

Or her aunt who moved to Texas because she was chased there by black helicopters. Her son (the Padre Pio guy) was, according to her aunt, born of an alien father, and we don't mean from Guatemala.

Another cousin, who believes that she is also of alien descent, has declared herself a shaman and a healer and sleeps with men in order to have a place to live.

Another cousin has two (possibly three) master's degrees, but does nothing with them. He's dedicated his life to spending his father's money going to school.

The cousin who was mentionined in the original post is not living in said trailer because he is poor. He's living threre because he's nuts. And he wants to be out in the middle of nowhere and left alone.

Let's not forget the incest and inbreeding that occured in her family that lead many to call the whole family "white trash". It's widely known throughout the family that one cousin is 99% probably the result of one sister and one brother sleeping together. And another cousin used to rape his sister on a regular basis.

And finally there's her sister - three husbands, four kids by two men, numerous lovers of both sexes - and proud of it.

So at this stage in her life, my wife has decided to laugh about it rather than cry any more. Why is it so hard to laugh any more?

mentally ill. If they had access to treatment their lives would probably be better.

I used to live in a trailer made in 1963. I made $7 an hour working in a machine shop. It's a wonder that I was able to hold down the job at all as I was severely mentally ill. I just wanted to be left alone like one of the Princess's family members. I've since gotten treatment and my life has improved. I now live in a small house and I make $17 an hour driving a truck. I'll probably never be rich, but I have moved up from being poor.

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